Achieving Gender Equality and Tackling Unconscious Biases

The recent #metoo movement has brought forth greater transparency of sexual harassment, assault and inequality in the workplace. Shining a light on gender inequality was the first step. Now modern businesses need to reconsider antiquated policies in order to achieve an egalitarian workplace that is welcoming to all employees. Gender biases can be so deeply rooted in our collective upbringing that they are hard to identify. Here are some things to keep in mind when reviewing biases in the workplace. Yann Borgstedt, founder of The Womanity Foundation, shares that two-thirds of the worlds working hours are worked by women who only earn 10% of that global income. The pay gap is wider than people may expect and businesses need to actively determine if they are contributing to it. An easy way to combat this is to have clear criteria for both hiring and employee evaluations leading to raises and promotions. Employee evaluations should have a pre-determined scale of measurable qualities for successful candidates and managers need to have oversight to make sure they are not biased by favoritism. The next step is to look at the gender makeup of a companies management team. If a company has entirely male leadership it is nearly impossible for women to be represented fairly. Often female leaders are not taken as seriously as men. Businesses need to vocally support female managers by openly expressing confidence in their abilities and qualifications. Women often feel that they need to work twice as hard to gain the same amount of respect and that must change. Gender biases go beyond the workplace with an unequal division of household labor and childcare. Companies can promote a more equal division of home labor by supporting both men and women with flexible schedules, better maternity and paternity leave and childcare support. These changes will allow families to divide labor fairly without losing out on promotional opportunities and pay. By encouraging a healthy work/life balance, businesses will be able to retain talented female leaders who have fresh ideas for success. It may seem obvious that companies need to defend both women and men from sexual harassment in the workplace. It is apparent that watching out-dated videos is not enough to stop sexual harassment. All managers should be trained to put a stop to harassment immediately and with strict consequences. If women are to have an equal place in a business they must feel safe at work and comfortable asserting themselves in the same way men do. We have a long way to go for an egalitarian society. These tips will allow you to use your business as a platform to raise women up and be part of the solution.